Here's the response I sent to someone who recently wrote me to ask about Iota Publishing:
I've never before heard anything about this publisher, either good or bad. I'm a bit concerned, however, because the person behind the publisher, Terry R. Cooper of Bijou Research, doesn't seem to have any professional background in publishing or publishing-related activities. The submissions process is odd, with authors required to obtain registration numbers. Also, Iota hasn't yet published anything. They've announced a couple of books, but that's not the same as actually putting them on the market.
Unless you are absolutely sure that the staff of a new publisher have genuine publishing industry experience, it's a good idea to wait to hook up with a new publisher until it has actually published some books. Not only does this assure you that the publisher is able to take books all the way through the production process, it allows you to assess things like physical quality, whether or not the publisher is getting review coverage, and how it's marketing its books. New publishers often get into financial trouble (especially if they start up without a business plan), or overcommit their resources, and go out of business abruptly, sometimes without ever publishing a single book. This can be a problem for writers, leaving rights in limbo. It's really much better to hold off on considering a publisher until it has demonstrated some staying power.
- Victoria
P.S. "Traditional," as has often been discussed here, means only that you won't have to pay an upfront fee. It tells you nothing about how the publisher actually operates--for instance, whether it provides competent editing or has any means of distribution.